5 THINGS - FLAMES VS. PENGUINS

FLAMES (5-4-0) vs. PENGUINS (4-1-2)

US

The Flames are returning home to the Scotiabank Saddledome after splitting a pair of road games to Atlantic Division opponents. The Eastern swing began with a 4-1 win over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, and finished with a 3-2 defeat just 48 hours later to the Montreal Canadiens. … David Rittich got the start in both tilts, posting 82 saves on 86 shots, including a career-high 44 stops in Sunday's victory over the Blueshirts. Rittich is now 2-1 on the year, with a 1.83 goals-against average and a .950 save percentage. … Michael Frolik and Elias Lindholm scored in Tuesday's game against the Habs, while Matthew Tkachuk assisted on both to pull him into a tie with Johnny Gaudreau for the team lead in scoring with 12 points. Lindholm, meanwhile, continues to pace the Flames in goals and with six on the year, he's only 11 off his career high of 17 with 73 games left in the season. … Following this evening's matchup, the Flames host the defending Cup champs, the Washington Capitals, in a rare matinee game Saturday before hitting the road for another two-stopper, beginning Monday against Auston Matthews, John Tavares and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

THEM

The Penguins are in the midst of an all-Canadian road trip that began with a shutout win over the Maple Leafs last Thursday, and hit the halfway point with a back-and-forth, 6-5 overtime triumph over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday. … Sidney Crosby (OT winner), Patric Hornqvist and stay-at-home D man Jamie Oleksiak each had a pair of goals, while Matt Murraymade 41 saves for his third win of the campaign. … Murray recently returned from a concussion - the third of his NHL career and second in nine months - and has now backstopped the Penguins to back-to-back victories after missing three starts. … The Pens, who have spent a few days practicing and enjoying the beautiful sights of Banff over the past week, have only one regulation loss this year, and are only one point off the Metro Division lead with two games in hand. ... Pittsburgh's four-game road trip wraps up on Saturday when they travel to Vancouver to face the Canucks.

US VS. THEM

This is the first of two meetings between these two teams this season, and the only to be played at the Scotiabank Saddledome. The season series will conclude with a matinee matchup on Feb.16 in Pittsburgh. … The Flames took three of a possible four points against the Pens last year, winning 2-1 in overtime on Nov. 2 in Calgary before dropping an OT decision, 4-3, on Mar. 5 at PPG Paints Arena. … Johnny Gaudreau and Mark Giordano led the Flames in head-to-head scoring, each recording two points in two games. … The Flames are 5-2-3 in their last 10 against Pittsburgh.

THIS, THAT & THE OTHER

THIS: The Flames have been dominant in the final frame so far this season, scoring 14 third-period goals, which is tied for the second
most in the NHL. THAT:James Nealwas a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2010 to 2014, setting career highs and goals (40) and points (81), and was named a First Team All-Star during the 2011-12 campaign. Neal ended his time with the Pens with 89 goals and 95 assists for 194 points in 199 games after being acquired by Nashville Predators in a trade on Jun. 27, 2014. THE OTHER:The Flames haven't lost to the Penguins at the Scotiabank Saddledome since Feb. 6, 2015. Since that time the Flames have outscored Pittsburgh on home ice 11 to 6.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Flames - Mikael Backlund
To a man inside the Flames dressing room, they admit they were not at their best, collectively, Tuesday in a 3-2 loss to the Canadiens. However, one Calgary forward had a remarkably good night considering how the game played out, and was the reason the Flames got back within a goal with a better third-period push. Backlund played north of 17 minutes, had two helpers, three shots, a team-high five attempts, and was 9-5 (64%) in the faceoff circle. Above all, his 5-on-5 play was among the best of anyone on the ice, out-chancing the opposition 8-2 (80%) in even-strength situations. Backlund now has five points in his last five games, and as Matthew Tkachuk described it during his post-game interview, No. 11 was one of the players "laying it out there" to help Flames claw back from a multi-goal deficit.
Penguins - Sidney Crosby
Indeed, the 'Greatest Player' debate is once again the talk of the National Hockey League, and rightfully so after a showing like that. Crosby entered Tuesday's contest against the Oilers without a goal on his 2018-19 resume. A notoriously slow start for one of the greatest ever to lace 'em up, yes, but prior to puck drop, there was an overwhelming sentiment that something Crosby-esque was going to go down in the rare, head-to-head match with fellow generational talent, Connor McDavid. Sure enough, it did. Crosby scored twice - including his highlight-reel overtime winner - to lift the Penguins to a madly entertaining 6-5 victory up in the Alberta capital. The goal? Teammate Patric Hornqvist, who himself had a pair in the barn-burning effort, called it the "nicest goal of his career," according to PittsburghPenguins.com. One on one with Edmonton's Ryan Strome, he turned the flat-footed Oiler inside out before cutting across the goalmouth and hoisting home the backhand from an impossible angle. Just another day at the office for No. 87.